Freshman dual sport athlete for softball and field hockey, Riley Michael has just started off her first season with the Lasell University Softball Team, and she’s coming in hot.
So far this season, she’s managed 12 strikeouts, 14 hits, and 9 runs. Michael has been playing for 11 years, explaining that she loves softball “because of the community.” She states, “I really appreciate my team. I haven’t played for a while, so I’m really getting a new love for the game again, and I think it’s really great so far.”
Michael has a lot of ambition and love when it comes to her new place on the softball team.
She expresses that she hopes to have “long-term friendships” due to the team’s close-knit nature and their ability to rely on each other, as Michael emphasized.
“Hopefully, I can learn a lot more about leadership and other skills that I can use in a professional setting outside of the field,” when asked about what she hopes to gain from the program in her time as an undergrad.
Michael also takes her pregame rituals very seriously, “I have to listen to the same hype songs. I definitely have to listen to Enter Sandman by Metallica. That’s my big one. I usually have one sunflower seed before the game, and then I can eat the rest during the game.
I always need eye black, and I usually do the same hairstyle, which is two braids at the top that go into two bubble braids at the bottom. We as a team are always reminding each other to smile as well.”
Many things make Lasell Softball stick out to Michael. “I think the dynamic on and off the field is going to really help us play well together.
I think our team would definitely, like, die for each other. We’re always talking, always having good energy, and bringing all our love for the game to the field.”
When asked about what she hopes to have achieved when she looks back on this season next year, Michael puts a heavy emphasis on finding her place as a freshman.
“I hope to just achieve the best version of myself, both on and off the field. I want to be able to take part in whatever role that I can have on the team and wherever I’m playing, whatever I’m doing, just having a smile on my face.”
–April 7, 2026–
